James Peacock Infant and Nursery School SKILLS BASED CURRICULUM 2014

Where do we start? At our school, we have always tried to plan and teach creatively, following National Curriculum guidelines and using our experience and knowledge to make learning fun and motivating.

As a staff, we are always open to change and embrace new ideas and technologies, rather than keep faith with an old and possibly restrictive curriculum.

When draft outlines for the New Curriculum were closely inspected, we soon discovered that very little was ‘new’. Our teaching of science, history and geography were already very much in line with the ‘new’ legislation. Other curriculum areas were in no way lacking in content and quality planning and teaching were always paramount whatever the subject.

From the outset, the idea of a curriculum ‘overhaul’ appealed to staff- here were opportunities to continue to develop creative planning as well as taking on new programmes of study. The issues discussed were not why we needed to make changes but how and when.

The Team: Curriculum Coordinator Science Coordinator Literacy Coordinator

The mission… Starting with Science, break down the programmes of study into half-term blocks Include all Foundation subjects: History, Geography, RE, ICT[ now known as Computing] Art and Design, DT, Music, PE and PSHE Ensure full coverage of all subjects, including the objectives ‘carried over’ from current to New Curriculum Compile a new Skills Document that shows progression and consistency across the Key Stage

The First Steps… After many hours of excited discussion and three packs of post-its, the Team had established a draft framework for Year One and one for Year Two. These frameworks were to form the scaffold on which to hang the programmes of study for each subject area. The ‘new’ topic headings were given careful consideration and the skills document was dissected ready to be delivered to all staff for their consideration.

Autumn Term [1] ‘Welcome Back’ Autumn Term [2] ‘Hot or Not’ Spring Term [1] + Spring Term [2] ‘Famous Firsts’ Cycle A- Inventors Cycle B- Explorers Summer Term [1] ‘Out of the Ark’ [animals] Summer Term [2] ‘Funny Bones’ [humans] Curriculum overview for Year One

Autumn Term [1] ‘Welcome Back’ Autumn Term [2] ‘Hot or Not’ Cycle A-The Great Fire of London Cycle B-The Sinking of the Titanic Spring Term [1] + Spring Term [2] ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’ Summer Term [1] ‘Inside Out’ [humans] Summer Term [2] Cycle A-‘A Bug’s Life’[minibeasts] Cycle B-‘Hideouts’[animals] Curriculum overview for Year Two

Getting there together All staff attended an Inset training day during which the New curriculum was explained and the programmes of study for each subject area were broken down and then inserted into a Subject overview. The next step was for each area of the Skills Document to be highlighted as an indication of the time of coverage within the school year.

‘Welcome Back’ ‘Hot or Not’ ‘The Great Fire of London’/The Sinking of the Titanic’ ‘Famous Firsts’ Y1 ‘Around the World in Eighty Days’Y2 ‘Out of the Ark’[animals] Y1 ‘Inside Out’Y2 ‘Funny Bones’Y1 ‘A Bugs Life’-minibeasts /Hideouts [Animals] Y2 Autumn 1Autumn 2Spring 1Spring 2Summer 1Summer 2 Year 1  changes within living memory. Where appropriate, these should be used to reveal aspects of change in national life  events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally [for example, the Great Fire of London, the first aeroplane flight or events commemorated through festivals or anniversaries] the lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements. Some should be used to compare aspects of life in different periods  events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally [for example, the Great Fire of London, the first aeroplane flight or events commemorated through festivals or anniversaries]  the lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements.  significant historical events, people and places in their own locality.  events beyond living memory that are significant nationally or globally [for example, the Great Fire of London, the first aeroplane flight or events commemorated through festivals or anniversaries]  the lives of significant individuals in the past who have contributed to national and international achievements.  significant historical events, people and places in their own locality. History Overview 2014 Areas in red [from old curriculum] are to be included within teaching Areas in green are to be revisited as short units each term Sample Subject overview

We are well on the way to delivering a curriculum that is even more exciting and motivating than previously. We are committed to ensuring progression of skills and consistency of planning, teaching and learning across Key Stage One. It may be necessary to make changes as the year progresses - we intend to make this a learning curve with our goals very clearly marked along the way.

Topic areas covered in the Autumn Term proved to be successfully planned for and teaching and learning was fun, interesting and provided challenges for all children. The medium term plans for Spring are full of innovative and exciting ideas with a vast range of skills catered for. Topic Boxes have been created as part of a Resource Bank for Science and Humanities and are added to continually. Watch this space…